The belief in the necessity of an external coercive institutional authority. Statists may believe that the practical value of a state outweighs the moral discrepencies associated with statism, and therefore many believe that although the state may be an "immoral" institution it is a practical and necessary one. As to what responsibilities the state should have is a topic often times debated amongst proponents of statism.

Communism and Capitalism are both statist socio-economic means of organization both relying upon the cooperation and subordination of society to function. As of now there is very little or no land not currently under the influence of statism as nearly all land is under the influence of a country.